RECENT READING
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
I thoroughly enjoyed Patchett’s new novel about two siblings, Maeve, and her younger by seven years brother, Danny. Set in the Philadelphia suburbs and New York, it takes place over many decades. This brother and sister are linked together, joined at the hip one might say, by the house they lived in for some of their childhood. Deserted by their mother who leaves them to help the poor in India, their father eventually marries Andrea, a younger woman with two daughters. Andrea loves the house, takes it over, and after their father’s untimely death, puts Maeve and Danny out.
Bereft and neglected, they live briefly in Maeve’s cramped space until Danny goes to boarding school. Over the years that follow, they drive to their old house, the grand Dutch house, and sit parked outside in the car. There they re-live and re-visit their mother’s abandonment along with Andrea’s mistreatment. Maeve never marries, Danny does, but Maeve holds primacy in his life and his emotions over Celeste, his wife.
What happens when Danny and Maeve reach middle age and their mother re-appears raises issues of forgiveness, compassion, bitterness and disappointment. Danny narrates their story, and he and Maeve are richly drawn characters. Anyone who has left a beloved house behind will identify with their lingering memories.
This novel makes a nice pairing with Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. In each case, a young person experiences a childhood trauma, be it a horrible tragedy or a major loss, and that event follows and, to an extent, haunts the rest of the person’s life. Being able to come to a reckoning of what happened and move forward and beyond it brings acceptance. Both Danny here and Peter in Keane’s novel achieve peace with the past. (~JWFarrington)
POLITICAL MEMOIR
The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power
If you’re a political junkie, then you will enjoy reading Powers’ detailed account of her time as a White House advisor to President Obama and then later as the US representative to the United Nations. If, like me, you resonate with the life stories of accomplished and intelligent women, then you will find Powers’ personal story engrossing and fascinating. As a child she emigrated with her mother from Ireland to this country and then spent the early part of her career as a journalist and reporter in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. She never anticipated that she’d work in government, but her positions on Obama’s team have been the most meaningful of her career.
At the time she began work in the White House, she was newly married and soon juggling the demands of one and then two young children. Generous in praise of her colleagues, forthcoming about her own shortcomings and mistakes, candid about what she learns about the roles and limitations of government, Ms. Powers’ memoir is engaging, compelling, and a worthwhile read. (~JWFarrington)
FABULOUS CONCERT
This season the Sarasota Orchestra is hosting a series of guest conductors, part of its search for a new music director to succeed Anu Tali. This week Bramwell Tovey, principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, led our local musicians in an ambitious and most enjoyable concert. From the opening notes of Berlioz’s Overture to Rob Roy, the playing was crisp and energetic; it continued that way through the entire concert. Guest soloists, Simone Porter on violin and Joshua Roman on cello, presented a spirited rendition of Brahms’ Concerto in A Minor. I found the Andante movement especially lovely. Before conducting William Walton’s Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Maestro Tovey combined British wit and verve to give the audience a bit of history about Walton along with suggestions on what to listen for in the four movements. This was a tour de force of a concert!
CELEBRATING HOUSE GUESTS
We had a week of company beginning with our son and wife and their two girls followed by my niece from Raleigh, North Carolina. These were lively days marked by tasty meals, time in the pool, some great conversation, blueberry pancakes with Grandma, a dollhouse, blocks and Calico Critters for added diversion and, lastly, an early birthday celebration for almost 4-year old, Frances. The heart-shaped cake, iced with pink frosting, of course, and decorated with berries, was made by Grandpa and a big hit! And not just with the birthday girl!
Note: Header photo is of a sea grape leaf at Robinson Preserve. It and the cake photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
